Chapter 2

Levi just stared intently on the boy. Eren stood there scared to death. Levi was possibly the last person anyone would want to make angry. The shorter man walked towards the younger boy. Eren slowly walked backwards. Levi held the gaze for so long, it made Eren extremely uncomfortable. He quickly looked away from the corporal.

Its as if he can read my thoughts. Eren thought, nervously.

Eren was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that the corporal was right in front of him. He shook away his thoughts and tried not to look at Levi.

"Say Eren, why are you so afraid of me?" He asked.

"U-ugh I-I don't know. Eren said, stuttering. He couldn't believe how scared he sounded, which annoyed him.

For some reason, Eren thought he saw a flash of misery in heichou's eyes.

Levi disrupted his thought process.

"Since you're here, you might as play with these brats." He said, pointing to the kids that were literally torturing Levi.

"...but..sir, I'm not good with children." Eren explained, distressed.

"Did I ask for your opinion, Jaeger?" He asked, smirking. Then he said, "Hey kids, come over here and play with this guy."

Eren gulped, clearly distressed about the thought of playing with children. He was possibly the worst person for the job. Although, it was really surprising to see heichou cook for these orphan children. Eren would've never been able to guess that heichou was such a kind person.

Kids came dashing to Eren from far and near, and started to attack him. Many of them asked questions about the titans. He told them about how they looked and all the crazy titans he saw. The kids' jaw dropped from the stories.

Levi turned and looked at Eren how he was managing.

Better than I expected. Levi thought.

Soon, Levi served dinner for the kids. The kids loved the food, oddly enough. Eren was shocked at how nice Levi could be.

Levi was the guest for the orphans today who were being taken care of by a dozen social workers. Levi and Eren said their goodbyes and left to the castle. The walk back was quiet. Neither of them said a work. It was at night and there was a full moon with billions of stars. Eren looks up, his eyes glinting.

He always wanted to go to the outside world, he couldn't wait until the titans are exterminated from the face of the Earth. Then, he could visit the "ocean" that he wanted to see for the longest time in Armin's book. There were tons of others too but ocean was the one that fascinated him the most. It looked so peaceful.

When they reached the castle, Eren went to the basement while Levi was upstairs in his room to sleep. The day after tomorrow would be the day he's going out on an expedition to venture out in the outside world for a trial run to Zhiganshina. He needed to be sure to get a good night's sleep. But, he couldn't get rid of corporal from his mind.

Why am I thinking about that now? Eren wondered.

After a couple of hours, he slowly drifted to sleep.

On the other hand, Levi couldn't get any sleep whatsoever.

That brat interrupting my work. He thought. But he couldn't help but feel a unique bond with the kid. Especially at how eager he was to join the Survey Corps and how boldly he spoke up in the courtroom. Then he remembered how Eren reacted towards him today and sighed. I understand he's afraid of me after what I did in the courtroom. But still. The older man couldn't help but feel a little hurt. Why am I thinking about him? He's just a brat that I have to take care of. He shook the thought away and remembered about that mission. We have the expedition in a day. He thought, feeling extremely anxious. Why am I so nervous about it? This is so unlike me. Its not that I'm scared. Although he couldn't admit it to himself, it was obvious that the corporal was scared...scared that he would lose him.